During the month, 702 multifamily permits were issued in Colorado, and 913 single-family permits were issued. During March 2011, there were 493 multi-family permits issued, and 735 single-family permits issued. The first graph shows permit activity for the first three months of the year since 1998. Through March of this year, there have been 2319 single-family permits and 1108 multifamily permits issued.
The second graph shows that overall, both multi-family and single-family permits in March were at levels well below what were typical over the past decade. During recent months, however, both multi-family and single-family permits have shown a slow upward trend.
During March 2012, the number of new multi-family permits issued was up from March 2011, and were at a six-year high. Over the past decade, only 2006 had more multifamily permit activity during the month of March.
In the other hand. March was another flat month for single-family permits for the most part, and March's single-family permit total was at the third-lowest level reported in ten years. Overall, March's totals were well below March totals seen before 2009.
Once again, multi-family growth trends outpaced single-family growth, and March 2012 was one of the strongest months for multifamily activity in five years.
Summary: Permit activity during March signaled a continued lack of growth in single-family construction while multifamily activity continued to grow.
